Headteacher Phil Kelly's Blog

Headteacher Phil Kelly's Blog

Posted: 21/10/11

Higham Lane School GCSE Results 2017

Higham Lane School is delighted to announce that students have performed very strongly in the 2017 GCSE qualifications.

Following last year's exceptional performance which placed Higham Lane in the top 100 non-selective schools in the country, this year 77% of students achieved five or more passes at grade C or above including at least grade 4 in the new English and Mathematics qualifications.

88% of students achieved a grade 4 or above in English, 80% in Maths, 77% in both English and Maths, and 77% in at least two Sciences. A quarter of students achieved five or more A*-A or 7-9 grades. Students, across all abilities, continue to make above national average progress at Higham Lane School.

This is our first set of results involving the new-style GCSEs in some subjects which have more challenging content and a different assessment system. The students have worked exceptionally hard and risen to the challenge, effectively supported by a hghly-skilled and dedicated team of staff and encouraged by their familes/carers.

There are so many excellent individual performances to celebrate. It is evident from these results that, even in an ever-changing educational climate, Higham Lane School delivers excellent outcomes which give all students the opportunity to succeed.

Phil Kelly, Headteacher

The whole school is really looking forward to welcoming prospective parents/carers and pupils to our Open Day and Evening on Wednesday, October 5th. Guides tours in the morning take place between 9am and 10am, and again at 11am, while the school is open from 6pm to 8.30pm in the evening. (For further details see `Latest News'). We want you to see the School at work during the day and in the evening every subject area will give you a special flavour of what they offer. We aim to make our Open Evening activities very hands-on, so the whole family enjoys the event. There will be a brief speech from me as Headteacher (6.15pm and again at 7.15pm) and a special address from our Head Boy and Girl on their views of our school. We will be delighted to answer all of your questions. If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, please come along and find out a little more about Higham Lane School! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (4.10.16)

It has been an amazing start to our school year! History has been made as, for the first time, Higham Lane School has offered Post 16 education in our brand-new Sixth Form Centre. It has been wonderful to see our new Sixth Formers arrive. What fantastic young adults they are, and great fun too! It has also been a pleasure to welcome our new Year 7s who have been so friendly, smart and enthusiastic. Finally, a warm welcome has been given to our new teaching and support staff who have made a great impression. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (9.9.16)

We are delighted with another fantastic set of GCSE results. 82% of Year 11 students achieved five or more A*-C grades, including English and Maths. A stunning 93% of students attained grades A*-C in English, with an excellent 85% obtaining A*-C in Maths. 28% of the Year Group secured five or more grades at A*-A. We are moving into a new system called Progress 8, where schools are judged primarily on the progress that students make from their starting points. It is very pleasing that students of all abilities made highly impressive progress - the highest rate of progress students have ever achieved at the School; we believe this reinforces the fact that at Higham Lane, every student is valued and we always challenge them to aspire to achieve their personal best. We are excited to be opening our Sixth Form to continue this excellent work at post-16 level. Please contact the School if you would like to secure a place in our Sixth Form. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (2.9.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, It was wonderful to welcome parents of next year's Year 7 to the School on Thursday to meet their child's form tutor and senior staff. We are really looking forward to working together. Great debating was evident at our Debating Challenge event on Tuesday, where Hartshill, Queen Elizabeth and HLS students competed, with Arbury Rotary supporting the event and judging. Well done to our Year 10s, who were triumphant and our Year 9s, who were brilliant runners up. We look forward to Enrichment Week and wish Year 10s an enjoyable work experience! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (18.7.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, It is a busy time of year! Everyone present loved the Summer Concert. The standard of performances was exceptional. The sheer variety in styles was just wonderful. We are preparing for our Sponsored Walk and Sports Days. It has been excellent to welcome Year 6 students to our school for their transition visits. They are all so enthusiastic. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (6.7.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, The Higham Lane Sixth Form Centre is very nearly complete and is looking fantastic. We can't wait to show it to you all! Year 11 exams are going well and we are so impressed by the maturity and focus of the students. The new Junior Leadership Team is in post and doing an impressive job. Students enjoyed their opening assembly. Finally, well done to the Year 11 boys' football team who won the Warwickshire Schools' Cup. What a great way to end the season! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (13.6.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, What an absolute pleasure it was to watch our Under 12 and Under 15 boys' football teams win their respective finals at the Bedworth Oval! The Year 7 lads took on a particularly strong side from Ash Green and went into the game as underdogs. They took their only chance in a tight first half and then really showed they can play in the second, with skilful passing and tackling, winning the Colin Jones Cup! Our Year 10 boys played football of an exceptional standard throughout their match against Ash Green. They were 2-0 up at half time after a tense first 10 minutes and in the second half their display was consistently awesome in all areas of the pitch. This goal machine of a team triumphed 5-1 to win the North East Warwickshire Cup. Thanks and congratulations to the teams' coaches: Mr Bailey and Mr Jhutti for the Under 12s and Mr Wilson for the Under 15s. Thanks also to the Nuneaton and District Schools Football Association for organising the event and to the staff at the Bedworth Oval for their hospitality in their superb ground. We loved the fact that the tannoy announcer informed the crowd of the line ups, scorers and substitutions and the presentation in the main stand, complete with Queen's ``We are the Champions!'' was a magical moment for both of our winning teams. Great support from parents, families and friends too! All in all, a wonderful evening for our school! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (19.5.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, These are really exciting times at HLS! The progress on our new Sixth Form Centre over Easter has been excellent, as you have probably noticed! We have also appointed a number of new teachers who have excellent A level teaching experience, to complement our current staff, many of whom have taught at post 16 level. The fact that we will have a Sixth Form has actually attracted more teacher applicants than normal, at a time of teacher shortages nationally. Mr Ladha, our Assistant Headteacher- Head of Sixth Form, is constantly updating students on this exciting project and his enthusiasm is infectious! Best wishes, Phil Kelly (11.4.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, We are delighted that our school has performed within the top 8% of all secondary schools in England and is the joint highest-performing state-funded secondary school in Warwickshire, based upon our 2015 GCSE results of 82% A*-C including English and Maths. Furthermore, the School is ranked first out of 55 schools across the whole of England with a very similar intake of students. This is an excellent performance by the students and their teachers. It indicates that students of all abilities make impressive progress at Higham Lane and that the School is performing extremely well. Our success, which we never take for granted, is based on excellent teamwork between students, staff, parents and carers and governors. We say to the students, ``Do your very best, whatever your ability.'' Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (22.2.16)

Dear Parents/Carers and Students, This week our annual school musical takes place at the Abbey Theatre in Nuneaton. We know how hard students and staff have been working together to make sure `Bugsy Malone' is a wonderful experience for the audiences. We wish the cast and production team all the very best! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (2.2.16)

We hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and we wish you all a Happy New Year. We are very excited that 2016 is the year when the first Higham Lane School Sixth Form will open. We are delighted to have had so much interest and such high numbers of applicants. The planning permission for our new Sixth Form Centre was approved in December. These are exciting times at HLS! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (7.1.16)

It has been an amazing final week of the autumn term! I would like to thank all of those students who performed and assisted so superbly at our Christmas concert on Wednesday. It was a wonderful evening, with great talent and teamwork on display and a wonderful variety of material. It definitely filled all those watching full of Christmas cheer! The event was compered by our Head Girl, Sharifa and our Head Boy, Ollie. They wrote a humorous, informative script and really kept the audience entertained in-between performances. We were delighted to present the concert the following day for senior citizens from our local community, having performed at the Reg Hadden Court earlier this week. Our visitors also enjoyed drinks and mince pies served by our students! The term finished with celebration assemblies and form parties. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (18.12.15)

I was so impressed to see the commitment and focus of the Year 11 students as they prepared for their trial examinations. While waiting to enter the exam venues, students were actively talking to each other about the subject content and helping their peers with final revision. When they left the rooms after the exams had finished, there was enthusiastic discussion about particular questions and tasks and great reassurance and support for those who had experienced a difficult paper. I am so proud to be the Headteacher who is at last seeing the dream of a Higham Lane Sixth Form become a reality. It is wonderful to consider that many of these Year 11 students will be joining our new Sixth Form, as well as students from elsewhere across Nuneaton and beyond. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (10.12.15)

What a fantastic evening the School’s Prizegiving was! We were delighted to welcome Jon Holmes, broadcaster, writer and comedian and former Higham Lane student as our Guest of Honour. Jon gave an excellent speech about the need to “find your spark and ignite it” and really entertained the audience with his humorous observations. As well as watching the awarding of many prizes to students and the issuing of exam certificates to last year’s Year 11, the audience was treated to speeches from the ex-Head Girl (Hiba Ajaz) and ex-Head Boy (Joe Krauth) and yours truly, the performance of two songs and a scene from our highly-successful musical, ‘Annie’ and a hilarious series of sketches where current Year 11 students impersonated various HLS staff in a quest to identify ‘Higham Lane’s Most Inspirational Teacher’. Evenings like this really remind us of what a wonderful school Higham Lane is and particularly the quality of its students and staff. It is a real pleasure to attend such an event. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (23.11.15)

It was lovely to see so many current and former Higham Lane staff and pupils at the Remembrance Service in Nuneaton on Sunday in various capacities. The School was represented by Head Girl, Sharifa, Head Boy, Oliver and me. Sharifa and Oliver presented our special wreath which has the School's name and badge at its centre and a special message from students and staff. We are delighted that the School is visibly represented at this important event to remember the fallen of two World Wars, and also more recent conflicts and we will be paying our own tribute as a school at 11am on Wednesday. It is a truly powerful moment when a school of 1220 students and 140 staff falls silent to pay its respects. Best wishes, Phil Kelly (9.11.15)

What a pleasure it was to welcome Geoff Barton to Higham Lane. Geoff is a leading expert on literacy as well as being a prolific author of books about English teaching and the Headteacher of King Edward VI School in Bury St Edmunds. Geoff presented a highly-engaging and practical session to Higham Lane staff and primary and secondary teachers from across Warwickshire. He really encouraged reflection about how we can further enhance our teaching of this important aspect of students' learning. Mrs Robinson, Subject Leader for English and Mrs Somel, Assistant Subject Leader for English were also delighted to meet Geoff (see photograph below) and tell him about the fantastic work of the English Department at Higham Lane. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (19.10.15)

The whole school is really looking forward to welcoming prospective parents/carers and pupils to our Open Day and Evening on Wednesday, October 7th. Guided tours in the morning take place between 9am and 10am, and again at 11am, while the school is open from 6pm to 8.30pm in the evening. (For further details see `Latest News'). We want you to see the School at work during the day and in the evening every subject area will give you a special flavour of what they offer. We aim to make our Open Evening activities very hands-on, so that the whole family enjoys the event. There will be a brief speech from me as Headteacher (6.15pm and again at 7.15pm) and a special address from one Year 8 student and our Head Boy and Girl on their views of our school. We will be delighted to answer all of your questions. If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, please come along and find out a little more about Higham Lane School! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (5.10.15)

Welcome back! I do hope you have enjoyed the summer. I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to all our new students who have joined us here at Higham Lane. Although this may seem a little daunting, I can assure you that you will quickly settle in and make new friends. If you are unsure of anything, please do ask someone. We are all here to help! We are very proud that Higham Lane continues to be one of the highest-performing schools in Warwickshire, with our summer results of 81% A*-C grades including English and Maths. There were so many fine performances at all levels of ability. This is only possible because of the mutually-supportive relationship which exists between students, parents/carers and staff. Congratulations to everyone involved in this success. But we are looking forward not looking back. Another exciting year is ahead of us! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (11.9.15)

As Headteacher I am delighted to announce another fantastic set of GCSE results! 81% of Year 11 students achieved 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Maths. In English, a stunning 93% of students attained grades A*-C, with an excellent 85% obtaining this in Maths. 25% of Year Group secured 5 or more grades A*-A. I would like to congratulate all our students on their achievements and tremendous success. I would also like to thank and congratulate Year 11 Progress Leader, Mark Davies, and all of our teaching and support staff, who have worked so hard and so effectively to enable the students to achieve these fantastic results. I am also most grateful to our parents and carers for all their support and encouragement. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (20.8.15)

It is wonderful to be welcoming back former students and staff to Higham Lane as we celebrate our 75th anniversary in the final week of the summer term. Visitors will be enjoying tours led by current students and they are really looking forward to interviewing their forerunners about their memories of HLS. We are also having an aerial photograph and current students will be burying a time capsule. It is fantastic to be making history again at Higham Lane School! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (13.7.15)

It was wonderful to watch the Year 8 and Year 10 teams take part in the Nuneaton and North Warwickshire Inter-School Debating Tournament. The students' skill in their use of research evidence, language and other rhetorical techniques, including humour, really impressed the judges from Arbury Rotary, the audience and other schools' debating teams. It was a great event for all the schools involved and we were pleased to be awarded the trophies for both age groups. The Summer Music Concert, which we were able to hold outdoors for the first time, was a wonderful representation of the singing and musical talents the students possess, with great technical support from the sound team. Thank you to Mrs Davenport and Mrs Watson for their wonderful support for the students in preparing for this event. Finally, the Year 11 Leavers' Dance was typically enjoyable. Students arrived in an imaginative variety of vehicles and they all looked stunning. It is always a pleasure for our staff to attend this event, although it brings a tear to our eyes as it finally sinks in that these young peole will be leaving us and preparing for the next stage of their lives. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (29.6.15)

Good luck to everyone taking exams. Thanks to everyone who is supporting you. Make the most of the lessons remaining: help yourself by concentrating, correcting your mistakes, helping your class to stay focused. Ask yourself why you want to be as successful as you can be. Is it to make you and your parents/carers proud? Do you want to increase the quality of your life in the future? Try to have a goal in mind and revisit this as much as possible when the revision and exam period becomes challenging. Remember that your teachers and parents/carers and friends all believe in you. We want you to have a great future! Remember those summer holidays ahead: only THEN can you relax without regrets, knowing you did the best you possibly could! Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (18.5.15)

Dear Students, Parents and Carers, We were delighted to be informed by the Department for Education that our bid to open a Sixth Form at Higham Lane has been successful! We now intend to offer post 16 provision from September 2016. The Sixth Form at Higham Lane will offer a mixture of traditional academic subjects. We will provide outstanding pastoral care to ensure our students achieve the best-possible outcomes. There will be a wide range of enrichment opportunities and extra-curricular activities, trips, visits and work placements that will help set our students apart when applying for high-quality apprenticeships, university or for employment. We are now working hard on the planning of our new Sixth Form Centre. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher

Dear Students and Parents/Carers. As we prepare for our Easter break, we know that our Year 11s remain fully focused on their forthcoming exams and very large numbers of them will be attending our Easter revision classes over the holiday period. Of course, they will also be getting some rest and re-charging their batteries. We regularly remind the students they will be enjoying their best and longest-ever summer holiday after the exam period is over and the extra focus and effort in these remaining weeks is essential to achieve their full potential. At the end of term we are bidding farewell to Mr Kevin Davis after 42 years' stunning service to HLS, 36 in a teaching capacity! Please see the Easter HLS Express for further details of his mammoth contribution to our school. I wish you all a very Happy Easter. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (25.3.15)

Dear Students and Parents/Carers. What an enormous pleasure it was for me to watch our Under-16 netballers finish equal 5th in the Nationals at Whitby High School, Cheshire, on Saturday. The girls played, as always, with great skill, passion and commitment and they were superb ambassadors to our school in the way they conducted themselves. We are so proud of them! Remember, both in qualifying for this tournament and actually playing in it as representatives for the West Midlands, they are up against a wide range of schools, including independent schools and grammar schools. I would like to thank the girls' parents and families for their support for the team over the past five years. Finally, I want to recognise the huge achievements of their coaches, Mrs Davies and Miss Blunt. To repeatedly get Higham Lane teams to national finals is a supreme achievement. The admiration and respect that the girls have for their brilliant coaches speaks volumes. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (16.3.15)

Dear Parents/Carers. It has been a very sad time for our school following the news of the deaths of two former Higham Lane students: Luke Henney, aged 24, and Michael Rouault, aged 21. Both were fine young men, only in the early stages of their lives. The School has very fond memories of Luke and Michael and has sent its sincere sympathies to the Henney and Rouault families at this enormously sad time. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (9.3.15)

Thank you to the many Year 9 students and their parents/carers who attended our Year 9 Curriculum Evening. It was great to have such an excellent turnout. As well as listening to an informative talk from Deputy Headteacher, Mr Banks, about the various curriculum options and the latest national changes, parents/carers and Year 9 students really appreciated the advice offered by subject staff and Year 10 students, who proudly displayed their work and answered a wide range of questions. Thank you also to the Year 10 student helpers who greeted parents/carers. We are delighted with the excellent feedback we received from our visitors! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (2.3.15)

Dear Parents/Carers, We are so proud to have received confirmation of our excellent performance in the 2014 GCSE results from the School Performance Tables. This confirms that Higham Lane School achieved the highest passrate of any non-selective secondary school in Warwickshire at 86% 5+A*-C grades including English and Maths, 30% above the national average! We are delighted with our value-added rating, which shows that students of all abilities made very good progress, whatever their starting points. This performance places the School within the top 10% of similar schools nationally. We are thrilled for the students, past and present and their parents/carers and, of course, for our fantastic staff. Strong results achieved by students of all abilities really helps them to progress onto successful further education and employment. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (6.2.15)

Dear Parents/Carers. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and on behalf of the staff, I wish you a Happy New Year. The spring term has started well. We are currently awaiting a decision regarding the outcome of our bid to the Department for Education to open a Sixth Form at Higham Lane from September 2016. We are also currently consulting on a slight change to our Admissions Policy from September 2016. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (12.1.15)

Dear Parents/Carers. Our autumn term ended in great style with three fantastic celebrations; our community Carol Concert at St Nicolas Church in Nuneaton; our School Christmas concert and our special concert for senior citizens who visited the School. It was a pleasure to see the students performing with such enthusiasm. The Teachers Got Talent event was also great fun and raised money for the charity TextSanta. Please have a read through our latest edition of HLS Express. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Best wishes, Phil Kelly,Headteacher (19.12.14)

Our annual Prize Giving at the Bedworth Civic Hall was another great evening of celebration for our school! As well as presenting GCSE certificates to our ex-Year 11s, the School awarded a wide range of shields, trophies and prizes to students from each year group. The audience enjoyed an interesting speech from our special guest, Rosie Goodwin, who explained the discipline of novel writing and how she got started in the profession. What really made the evening were the three live performances from our students: a superb scene from last tem's school production of `Teechers', a stunning performance of Emeli Sande's `Read All About It' by Jessica Jacques and finally a sketch impersonating a selection of HLS staff written and performed by three Year 11s: Sophie Rowley, Katie Apted and Lucy Astbury from our Drama Academy. They had the audience in absolute hysterics! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (19.11.14)

It was lovely to see so many current and former Higham Lane staff and pupils at the Remembrance Service in Nuneaton on Sunday in various capacities. The School was represented by Head Girl, Hiba, Head Boy, Joe and me. Hiba and Joe presented our special wreath which has the School's name and badge at its centre and a special message from students and staff. I chatted to Hiba and Joe before the service began about how significant this event is for Nuneaton, across the country and beyond. The words of Abide With Me, which is the last hymn sung at the ceremony, are so very poignant. We are delighted that the School is visibly represented at this important event to remember the fallen of two World Wars, and also more recent conflicts and we will be paying our own tribute as a school at 11am on Tuesday. It is a truly powerful moment when a school falls silent to pay its respects. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (10.11.14)

It's been an amazing few days for the School! Open Day and Evening were a huge success with record numbers of parents and younger students visiting the School and being treated to excellent tours by those who know the School best of all - the current students! The photos on the website give you something of a flavour of the evening. We are also thrilled that our Under 16 netballers have won their fifth consecutive Warwickshire County title! The girls really deserve their success and their coaches, Mrs Davies and Miss Blunt, are rightly proud. This week we look forward to appointing a new Assistant Headteacher and hosting Holocaust Education training, as part of our responsibilities as a Beacon School in Holocaust Education. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (13.10.14)

The whole school is really looking forward to welcoming prospective parents/carers and pupils to our Open Day and Open Evening on Wednesday, October 8th. Guided tours in the morning take place between 9am and 10am, and again at 11am, while the school is open from 6pm to 8.30pm in the evening. (For further details see `Latest News'). We want you to see the school at work during the day and in the evening every subject area will give you a special flavour of what they offer. We aim to make our Open Evening activities very hands-on, so that the whole family enjoys the event. There will be a brief speech from me as Headteacher (6.15pm and again at 7.15pm) and a special address from two members of our Junior Leadership Team on their views of our school. We will be delighted to answer all of your questions. If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, please come along and find out a little more about Higham Lane School! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (25.9.14)

We are absolutely delighted to have achieved the School's best-ever GCSE results with 84% of students achieving 5+ A*-C grades and many stunning individual performances from students of all abilities. This is a 15% increase on last year's result and is a fantastic reward for all the hard work of our students and staff and great support from parents and carers. I am also delighted to tell you that Higham Lane School has achieved the best results of any comprehensive school in Warwickshire! This is something we are hugely proud of! We are never complacent about our success and are committed to performing consistently strongly. As we alway say to our students, ``Be the best you can be! No one can ask for more than that!'' Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (30.8.14)

What a wonderful Enrichment Week! The list of activities speaks for itself: Year 9 History trip to the London Dungeon, Year 7 Le Touquet trip to France, Year 8 Bin It workshop, Year 9 Prison Me No Way (crime awareness) day, Year 7 History trip to Warwick Castle, individual sports days for Years 7, 8 and 9, Year 7-8 reward trips to Drayton Manor Park and Star City, Year 9 reward trip to Alton Towers and Star City, Year 11 Duke of Edinburgh Award trip, plus lots of other fun activities in school. What a week! What great students! What great staff! What a school! Thanks to Mrs Mitchell for coordinating it all. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (10.7.14)

At this time of great sporting activity internationally, it makes me hugely proud to reflect upon the fact that Higham Lane School is a place where students love sport and are actively involved in it! Of course we value competitive sports and are hugely proud that our netballers and badminton players regularly reach the national finals and our footballers perform admirably at county level. Even more important than this though perhaps is the fact that students willingly bring their kit for each PE lesson, develop their sporting skills in a wide range of activities whatever their ability through wonderful teaching and enjoy outstanding relationships with staff. Sport really is for everyone at HLS! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (19.6.14)

Good luck to everyone taking exams. Thanks to everyone who is supporting you. Make the most of the lessons remaining: help yourself by concentrating, correcting your mistakes, helping your class to stay focused. Ask yourself why you want to be as successful as you can be. Is it to make you and your parents/carers proud? Do you want to increase the quality of your life in the future? Try to have a goal in mind and revisit this as much as possible when the revision and exam period becomes challenging. Remember that your teachers and parents/carers and friends all believe in you. We want you to have a great future! Remember those summer holidays ahead: only THEN can you relax without regrets, knowing you did the best you possibly could! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (15.5.14)

We have just had the pleasure of carrying out the selection process for the 2014-15 Junior Leadership Team and Senior Prefects. Applicants were asked to write a letter of application outlining their personal qualities and ideas for future developments. Those shortlisted took part in an Apprentice-style group activity where they had to create a strategy that encouraged students to develop independent learning skills. Those who reached the final stage were interviewed by senior staff and members of the outgoing JLT. The standard of candidates was absolutely superb and we were so impressed by the quality of their ideas and their commitment to our school. Congratulations to those appointed to the roles of Head Girl and Head Boy, Assistant Head Girls and Assistant Head Boys, Senior Prefect Co-ordinators and Senior Prefects. Thank you to everyone who applied. As we always say on these occasions, we are a team at this school and everyone, irrespective of their role, has a contribution to make. Best wishes, Phil Kelly (3.4.14)

We held our fourth Governors' Day on Friday, March 14. At our last Full Governors meeting back in December, governors shared ideas on how they would like to spend the day and the following programme was especially created to address their training requirements and give them an even better understanding of the work of the School: attending Staff Briefing; E Safety training; meeting with Student Voice and answering questions about the role of governors; understanding the quality assurance framework within the School; tips from a fellow governor on conducting a governor link visit; an update on teaching and learning developments, including a learning walk to a range of lessons; having lunch with students and attending lunchtime activities; attending a Year 8 assembly; understanding pupil progress and key government accountability measures; taking a closer look at finance and governors' responsibilities within an academy; OFSTED's expectations of Governing Bodies and, finally, an update on Post 16 plans. Governors' evaluations were extremely positive. They just wished they had had more time to talk to students, so we will build that into next year's event. Best wishes,Mr Kelly, Headteacher (25.3.14)

The first meeting of our new Parent Forum took place last term and was a great success! In this new group, we aim to enable parents/carers to: join other parents to share ideas and put forward views to senior members of staff and governors; contribute to policy and decision making; be more informed about their child/children’s learning and receive updates on actions following previous meetings. In the next meeting on 12th February at 6.00pm in the Learning Resource Centre (Library), we will enable you to learn from an experienced English teacher about how we are promoting Literacy at the School. Why not come along? It is a friendly gathering and refreshments are provided. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (10.2.14)

Dear Parents/Carers, The spring term has got off to an excellent start! The teaching staff, teaching assistants and cover supervisors began with an excellent INSET Day that included sharing strategies on effective teaching and learning, swapping one idea every 3 minutes with a different partner, as well as time in subject teams developing schemes of learning. I was also so impressed by the staff and Year 11 students who worked on the iGCSE English throughout the day. We look forward to welcoming the Year 7 parents at their Student Progress Evening. Best wishes, Phil Kelly (16.1.14)

On behalf of the staff and governors of Higham Lane School, I wish all of our students and parents/carers a Happy New Year! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (2.1.14)

Dear Parents/Carers, We are really looking forward to our special Christmas Concert on Wednesday evening and our Christmas Concert for senior citizens from our local community on Thursday. The children love performing to these enthusiastic audiences! On behalf of the staff and governors at Higham Lane School, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (16.12.13)

We are delighted with our OFSTED Inspection Report! Inspectors praised students' exceptional attitudes to learning and their good progress, teachers' consistently good teaching that shows staff know their students well and the School's strong leadership at all levels. Students' active contribution to the everyday running of the School is also highlighted. Our achievements, as reflected in this inspection report, are a great compliment to our superb staff and wonderful students. We receive fantastic support from our governors, parents and carers and I know you will feel great satisfaction and pride in reading the report. This is an exceptionally positive report, but we are not complacent and are fully aware of how the School needs to move forward to become an outstanding school as we prepare to offer Post 16 education from September 2015. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (5.11.13)

In the final week before half term, the Senior Leadership Team is popping into lessons to celebrate the learning that is taking place. We speak to students about what they are learning and how this lesson fits into their wider studies; we also ask them about their current level/grade and target level/grade and what they need to work on to make their work even better, so we can see how well they understand the feedback from their teachers. It is such a pleasure for us to see all the varieties of learning taking place at our school, the highly skilled, committed teachers at work and the magnificent attitudes to learning of our students. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (21.10.13)

Higham Lane School looks forward to welcoming the OFSTED team to our school on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th October. We look forward to celebrating the quality of our work with them and showing the fantastic qualities of our students and staff, ably supported by our parents and carers. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (8.10.13)

The whole school is really looking forward to welcoming prospective parents/carers and pupils to our Open Day and Open Evening on Wednesday, October 2nd. Guided tours in the morning take place between 9am and 10am, and again at 11am, while the school is open from 6pm to 8.30pm in the evening. (For further details see `Latest News’). We want you to see the school at work during the day and in the evening every subject area will give you a special flavour of what they offer. We aim to make our Open Evening activities very hands-on, so that the whole family enjoys the event. There will be a brief speech from me as Headteacher (6.15pm and again at 7.15pm) and a special address from two members of our Junior Leadership Team on their views of our school. We will be delighted to answer all of your questions. If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, please come along and find out a little more about Higham Lane School! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (27.9.13)

On behalf of the School, I would like to give a very warm welcome to all our new Year 7s. They have smiles on their faces, look extremely smart, and have made an excellent start! Also a warm welcome to their parents/carers. We are really looking forward to working with you. Several new staff have joined us as well, as indicated in our most recent newsletter. We wish all our new arrivals every happiness at HLS. Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (5.9.13)

I cannot believe another year has passed! Our Activities Week was a great success - an enormous variety of activities: a huge range of trips, sports days and school-based activities based on the theme of Commonwealth. Our final edition of HLS Express is our biggest and best ever! It gives you an idea of all the amazing things our young people have been involved in this term. Please take a look at it on the website. Have a wonderful summer! Best wishes, Phil Kelly, Headteacher (19.7.13)

The Leavers’ Dance was a great event as always, with ex Year 11s looking stunning as they arrived at the Sketchley Grange Hotel. This evening marks the end of their time with us at Higham Lane, so we feel a real mixture of emotions: sadness to see them leave us, but enormous pride in how the School has helped to develop these superb young people. I also often chat to older brothers and sisters and hear about all their successes, as well as proud parents. Just as we say goodbye to Year 11s, Year 6 students join us for transition days. We make a real effort at HLS to ensure these future members of our school community feel fully welcomed by taking part in a variety of lessons, meeting their new tutor and members of their form group and having any questions answered. The visits by HLS students to our partner schools are always appreciated. Finally, a huge thank you to Mrs Davenport, Mrs Watson and all the students who entertained us in our excellent summer music concert. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (1.7.13)

Good luck to everyone taking exams. Thanks to everyone who is supporting you. Make the most of the lessons remaining: help yourself by concentrating, correcting your mistakes, helping your class to stay focused. Ask yourself why you want to be as successful as you can be. Is it to make you and your parents/carers proud? Do you want to increase the quality of your life in the future? Try to have a goal in mind and revisit this as much as possible when the revision and exam period becomes challenging. Please read my Top Ten Tips for Success in Your Exams on this website(please click for link). It is packed with helpful hints! Remember that your teachers and parents/carers and friends all believe in you. We want you to have a great future! Remember those summer holidays ahead: only THEN can you relax without regrets, knowing you did the best you possibly could! Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (13.5.13)

The summer term is well and truly underway! Year 11s are focusing on their forthcoming exams. We were delighted with the recent Maths and Science results from exams taken earlier this year. Seeing the students’ smiling faces as they read their scores was a wonderful sight and a just reward for all their hard work. Sporting success also continues with news that the Under 16s have qualified for the Coventry Telegraph Cup Final at the Ricoh Arena. Please take a look at the article on the website about our visit to our Gambia link school. We are so proud of what our students and staff achieved there. Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (22.4.13)

So much is happening at this time. School trips have departed to our link school in The Gambia and to Morocco - a first for the Geography Department! The Junior Leadership Team and Prefect selection processes have begun, with applicants who were successful at the problem solving stage having been invited for interview. Happy Easter to you all. Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (28.3.13)

We are enormously proud that two of our netball teams have made it through to the National Finals in Essex on 16th March. This is a fantastic achievement for a comprehensive school and a great tribute to the efforts of the girls and their coaches, Mrs Davies and Miss Blunt. The girls’ families have been incredibly supportive in ferrying their children to and from fixtures and enthusiastically supporting the teams over several years. I was delighted to attend the Nuneaton and Bedworth Sports Forum’s Celebration of Sporting Achievement on 22nd February and watch the U14 girls badminton team: Grace Taylor, Nicola Potts, Shaniah Wilkes and Katie Apted (coached by our Data Manager, Mr Dave Prior!) collect the Junior Team Award. This was an enormously proud moment for the girls and their parents. Our netballers and badminton players have been incredibly skilled in balancing their sporting contribution with the pressures of school work and other commitments. They are great role models to fellow students. Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (4.3.13)

We have recently been busy visiting lessons to celebrate students’ learning and talk to them about how they are progressing in each subject. We have been considering engagement and behaviour and also taking a look at exercise books and other work to see how teachers are applying our updated Feedback Policy. I have been really impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the students and their teachers. I’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Under 16 and Under 14 girls netball teams who have qualified for the National Finals in March. This is a fantastic achievement for the girls and their coaches, Mrs Davies and Miss Blunt. Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (11.2.13)

It has been quite a frustrating start to the term with the school closures due to extreme weather. Never before have I had to close the School early during a school day and never before have I seen seven inches of snow on this school’s grounds. The sheer amount of snow fall took us by surprise and meant it took longer than normal to ensure the site was safe and accessible to staff cars. Please kindly take a look at my letter to parents in the School Information section of the website to get a full insight into my recent decision making and my thoughts on planning to address future heavy snowfall. Best wishes. Phil Kelly, Headteacher (31.1.13)

On behalf of our staff and governors, I would like to wish all of our pupils and their parents/carers a very happy, healthy and successful 2013. Best wishes. Phil Kelly (10.1.13)

I hope my final blog for this term finds you well. I can’t believe Christmas has come around already! It will be wonderful for all of us to have some cherished time with our families and friends. It’s been another fantastic term and we are ending it on a real high with our Christmas Music Concert (which is now completely sold out!), followed by a special show we are putting on for senior citizens from our local community. Our Year 11 students will, I am sure, take a well-earned rest over some of the Christmas break and recharge their batteries. They will also be making good use of their time in preparing for forthcoming examinations. Our termly school newsletter, HLS Express, will be reaching you this week. Please have a read of it as it is packed with interesting articles, many of which have been written by the students themselves. We are extremely proud that so much of value is taking place at our school! Thank you for your continuing support for the School. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Phil Kelly (19.12.12)

It was lovely to see so many current and former Higham Lane staff and pupils at the Remembrance Service in Nuneaton on Sunday in various capacities. The School was represented by Head Girl, Muneebah, Head Boy, Dom and me. They presented our special wreath which has the School’s name and badge at its centre. I chatted to Muneebah and Dom before the service began and we considered how many years this important event has taken place and why it is so important that the School is represented. It was also terrific to meet up with two ex Higham Laners, Ian and Ella, who were representing King Edward’s College and hear about their progress in their A level courses and applications to university. In the hustle and bustle of modern life, moments of true reflection like Remembrance Sunday are rare. The words of ‘Abide with Me’ never cease to lose their poignancy I feel. We must remember that these events do not just honour the fallen of two World Wars, but also more recent conflicts. Phil Kelly (12.11.12)

Just before half term we ran a selection process for a new Deputy Headteacher. These events are sometimes called `interview days' but we don't use that term because there is so much more to them than interviewing each candidate. Over the past few years, schools have become much more skilled at ensuring candidates for such key positions are fully assessed on the wide range of qualities they will need to use in the particular position. I am delighted at Higham Lane that pupils play such an active part in the process. This includes: Year 9 pupils taking each candidate on a tour of the School and answering any questions; the Junior Leadership Team interviewing candidates individually with an Assistant Headteacher; Year Ambassadors having lunch with the candidates and pupils having a chance to speak to them on the playground at lunchtime. In addition, candidates were also asked to: teach a lesson; take part in a discussion on two key issues; do an in-tray exercise about how they would handle a range of situations on a challenging day; give a presentation on how they would further develop teaching and observe a Higham Lane teacher teaching a lesson and give feedback to the teacher on the strengths and areas for development of that lesson. And of course there are the interviews on a range of topics such as their ideas on pastoral matters, curriculum, behaviour for learning, special educational needs and disabilities and teaching and learning. I hope you can see from this long list just how thoroughly we assess candidates to recruit the very best staff for Higham Lane School and why the term `interview day' is now truly out of date! Phil Kelly (5.11.12)

It was wonderful to see so many parents/carers of Year 7 pupils at last Thursday’s parents’ evening. We are so impressed with all of our new Year 7s and we agree with their parents/carers that they have settled in extremely well. One of the highlights of my week was chatting to Jess Knight and Daniel Robbins from Year 11 who have been nominated by their English teacher, Miss Wilson, for outstanding effort on their English controlled assessments. I also really enjoyed visiting Yr 11 Catering and Drama lessons this week. The Catering students displayed great confidence and independence in the way they set about preparing their soufflés! I felt like a judge on Master Chef as I questioned the young people about their recipes, except I am no expert! The Drama students are really enjoying their new syllabus and experimenting with a technique called Forum Theatre. Their ideas were incredible. The imagination, humour and cheerfulness of all of these students and their teachers hugely impressed me. Have a great week! Phil Kelly (15.10.12)

What a fantastic week we have had at HLS! Our Open Day was an enormous success. Feedback from visiting parents and younger pupils about the quality of their Higham Lane tours was absolutely outstanding. There are no better ambassadors for our school than the young people who confidently and enthusiastically show visitors around and answer their questions. It never ceases to amaze me how many of our pupils choose to give up their time to help with Open Evening. They have enormous pride in their school. I am indebted to Head Boy, Dom, Head Girl, Muneebah and Assistant Head Girl, Sam, for speaking so informatively and confidently to parents in Coombe Hall. Our enthusiastic staff laid on excellent displays and activities to give visitors a flavour of the way we work. Please see the pictures on this website. To top it all off, our Year 11 netballers won the Warwickshire County Netball Tournament! Congratulations girls! We are all so proud of you! Best wishes, Phil Kelly (8.10.12)

The whole school is really looking forward to welcoming prospective parents/carers and pupils to our Open Day and Open Evening on Wednesday, October 3. (See `Latest News’ for more details). We want you to see the school at work during the day and in the evening every subject area will give you a special flavour of what they offer. We aim to make our Open Evening activities very hands-on, so that the whole family enjoys the event. There will be a brief speech from me as Headteacher and a special address from two members of our Junior Leadership Team on their views of our school. We will be delighted to answer all of your questions. If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, please come along and find out a little more about Higham Lane School! Best wishes, Phil Kelly (24.9.12)

In my opening assembly I have been talking to our young people about our school’s core mission: helping learners succeed, and asking them to reflect on what this means. We have been considering all the opportunities that exist within the School to do your best, whether in particular subjects, in sport, drama or music or in taking on a responsibility such as being a Year Ambassador. I have reminded all the pupils about the importance of our Behaviour for Learning Policy, which 99.9% of Higham Lane students follow, day in, day out, which is why they receive so much praise from school staff and visitors. With Year 11s, we have talked about doing everything you can to take control of your future within a highly-competitive world where technological change is rapid. We ask them to quite simply do their very best, which is what the staff will do to support them. The workshop of effective revision strategies that was led by Year 11 pupils during the Parents’ Information Evening was excellent and well-received by Year 11 parents. This will be shared with all Year 11s in the year group over the next few C&PSHE lessons. Dr Giovanelli (Deputy Headteacher) has been talking to the pupils about our revised Feedback and Marking Code that focuses on ensuring assessment is purposeful and actively engages pupils. Best wishes, Phil Kelly (17.9.12)

On behalf of the School, I would like to give a very warm welcome to our new Year 7s. It's great to have you with us! We have all been inspired by the Olympians and Paralymians over the summer. They have reminded us just what can be achieved through sheer hard work, dedication and sometimes battling against the odds. I am sure I will be referring to Mo Farah, Ellie Simmonds and Jessica Ennis in my assemblies this year! Talking of great performances, we were very pleased that 96% of our Year 11 GCSE pupils achieved 5+A*-C grades, with 71% achieving 5+A*-Cs including English and Maths. 29% of pupils achieved 5+A*-A grades. It was pleasing to see the smiles on the faces of so many of our former students as they opened their results. We know these figures would have been even higher if there had not been the issues with the assessment of GCSE English highlighted in the media. I wish everyone a happy and successful year. Phil Kelly (10.9.12)

The end of the school year has come around again and we have finished on an incredible high! Our Activities Week was an enormous success. This enrichment opportunity featured school trips galore, creative lessons on the theme of the Jubilee, our sponsored walk to raise money for the School that the Junior Leadership will oversee next year and three amazing sports days held inside due to the inclement weather. The pupils loved their indoor Olympic challenges. We are fortunate to have such an imaginative PE Dept who did not let the weather get the better of them! The finale to our term was an absolutely outstanding production of Willy Russell's Our Day Out. It is a pleasure to work with the young people, staff and parents/carers of this wonderful school. Have a great summer! Phil Kelly (19.7.12)

Year 11's final day was truly something to behold! I think it is fair to say that the School has really made a great effort to ensure this day is special for all our Year 11s as they prepare to leave us. This year students were allowed to wear their 2012 Leavers hoodies and enjoyed refreshments, shirt signing and taking photos in Coombe Hall at break as all of their teachers came to say farewell and write notes in their leavers' books. This continued at lunchtime as catering staff treated them to a special barbecue on the main playing field. The day finished in great style with our now legendary leavers' assembly. I would love to believe that the highlight was my brief farewell speech, but that was a very small part of proceedings! We all enjoyed watching a slideshow of photos of staff and pupils and how we've changed over the years, a hysterical drama sketch by our Drama students, live music from pupils and staff and our amazing `Rockstar' farewell video, put together by Progress Leader, Mr Morris, and Katie, our ICT senior technician, which can be found on this website and YouTube! As Headteacher I find these days wonderfully enjoyable, incredibly uplifting and quite emotional all in one. The quality, kindness and imagination of the young people who attend this school and the staff who work with them never ceases to amaze me. Good luck Year 11! We will miss you and we are so proud of you all! Phil Kelly (19.6.12)

OFSTED, whose job it is to monitor the performance of each school across the country, have given Higham Lane School a ringing endorsement! It was very pleasing to receive a letter from Her Majesty's Inspector, Susan Gregory, on 20th March which praised the School's performance and showed OFSTED believe we are doing a good job. The letter concluded: ``I am pleased to inform you that our interim assessment shows that the School's performance has been sustained and that we can defer its next inspection . . . I wish everyone in the School continued success in the future.'' Phil Kelly (28.3.12)

It's that time of year again when we are selecting the new Junior Leadership Team (JLT). This is made up of six Yr 11 pupils including Head Girl, Head Boy and their Assistants. This group has played a hugely important role in the School over the past three years and their responsibilities include: chairing and minuting weekly JLT meetings with Mrs Allport and I, attending Governors' meetings, line managing prefects, organising Non Uniform Days and other fundraising events, organising Yr 6 induction day activities, maintaining the JLT noticeboard and website and presenting assemblies to each year group. Most important of all, they represent the views of students and try to make the School even better. They tell me about the `Word on the Street' and make proposals to move the School forward. The current JLT has done a fantastic job. I am looking forward to reading the applications of Year 10 students. Best wishes. Phil Kelly (27.2.12)

One of my favourite experiences as headteacher is walking past a classroom and realising really exciting or unusual learning is taking place. The other day, I noticed Mr Parker's Science lesson had pupils stood in a circle. When I entered the classroom I discovered that the lesson was considering the speed of a nerve impulse from a stimulus to a response. Students had previously established the pathway of a nervous response and also that signals are sent within the nervous system as electrical impulses. The class all stood in a circle holding the elbow of the student to their clockwise side. Every student held one elbow and also had one of their elbows held. They asked me to join the circle which I gladly did. A start student was selected, who was given an aural stimulus; at the same time a stop watch was started. Following this they had to squeeze the elbow they were holding. Each subsequent student then squeezed the elbow they were holding, as soon as they felt their elbow being squeezed. This went in a clockwise direction. As soon as the last person felt their elbow being squeezed they said `stop' and the stopwatch was stopped. The class divided the total time by the number of people involved and this gave them the time taken from stimulus to a response in one person. Active, thought-provoking learning at its best! Phil Kelly (30.1.12)

An excellent start to the term! Staff began with a terrific training day on active learning and safeguarding. Year 11 pupils have been revising hard and sitting GCSE exams in English, Maths and Business and trial examinations in all other subjects. Mr Gareth Davies is busily packing his giant container with items for our link school in The Gambia. Can you help with this? Please see the News section. Sporting congratulations to the Year 8/9 girls' and boys' teams who won the Nuneaton & District Badminton Tournament, the Year 7 girls who won the Year 8 District Swimming Gala and the Year 7/8 girls team who won the Nuneaton & District Football Tournament. Have a great week! Phil Kelly (16.1.12)

What a wonderful way to finish this autumn term with our fantastic Christmas music concert. The standard of contributions from pupils was fantastic. The variety was amazing, with traditional pieces, Indian music and the Arctic Monkeys in one stunning evening of entertainment! Delighted to report that our German Exchange students and staff have returned safely after their trip to Münster. HLS Express is now available so please have a good read over the Christmas break. So many wonderful activities have been taking place within the School and beyond! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Phil Kelly (16.12.11)

The annual RE Inter-faith Day was a huge success! I was so impressed by the enthusiasm, commitment and imagination of our Year 11s as they actively participated in workshops and presented songs, poems, pictures and raps on the theme of being open-minded to an audience of the whole year group. A huge thank you to Mrs Kilkelly, Miss Charles and Mrs Lloyd, as well as Year 11 teachers who led workshops. I challenge any school to have achieved such a high level of engagement by Year 11s in an RE-based day two weeks before the end of the autumn term! This says so much about our students and staff! Phil Kelly (5.12.11)

As a forward-thinking school, we are committed to being the best we can be, celebrating our positive qualities and permanently improving our performance. Parents will have received a Kirkland Rowell survey to complete and return to the school by Friday, November 25th. We carry out such a survey every two years to gather parents' views on what the school does well and how it can improve further. The findings are analysed for us indepedently by the market research company Kirkland Rowell. Pupils will be completing a similar survey in their CPSHEEd lesson this week. We look forward to receiving your feedback! Have a great week. Phil Kelly (21.11.11)

Attending the annual Remembrance Sunday parade and service at Riversley Park is always a great pleasure. Head Boy, Amrik Singh and Assistant Head Girl, Becky Amos-Hirst laid a wreath on behalf of pupils and staff of Higham Lane School. It was wonderful to see so many of our current and former pupils and staff at the parade, often representing local organisations that give opportunities to our young people. We have an incredibly busy seven days ahead of us with Enterprise Week, Children in Need and Prizegiving. Good luck to those pupils sitting examinations in Science. Best wishes. Phil Kelly (14.11.11)

The Year 8 Business & Enterprise Days, which developed Maths and Business skills, were active, independent, fun learning at its best. I was so impressed to see 240 youngsters totally engrossed in challenging activities as they designed cars of the future and presented their ideas. The number of different skills that were used was incredible! Enterprise runs through this school like the wording on a stick of rock! Thanks to the two Ms: Mrs McKernan and Mr McDonald for making a difference! Have a great week! Phil Kelly (7.11.11)

Charity is in the air at HLS! Every year group has adopted a chosen charity. These include: Guide Dogs for the Blind, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, Teenage Cancer Trust, Baby Lifeline (at George Eliot Hospital) and Make a Wish. Year 11 Charity Week was a great success! Year 7 and 8s are also supporting Operation Christmas Child, distributing gift-filled shoeboxes to disadvantaged children around the world. Our students and their families and our staff never cease to impress me with their kindness, imagination and generosity of spirit! Have a great week! Phil Kelly (31.10.11)

It's a great pleasure for me to write the first-ever Headteacher's Blog. We're still receiving thank yous for the students who welcomed visitors on Open Day. Our netballers, footballers and rugby players are continuing to achieve great things! The weekend's Gambia training went really well despite the weather. Looking ahead, it's Year 11 Charity Week and Art students will be day tripping on Wednesday. Looking forward to seeing our Year 7 parents on Thursday. Have a great week! Phil Kelly (10.10.11)